PORCUPINE CHICKEN

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THE ULTIMATE PORCUPINE CHICKEN

This is the full legendary recipe that broke the internet. A whole chicken is transformed into a terrifying-looking “porcupine” by stuffing hundreds of wooden toothpicks through the skin before deep-frying. When dropped into hot oil, the skin contracts violently, the toothpicks lock the skin in place, and you get the crunchiest, most explosive crackling ever created. It’s dangerous, dramatic, delicious, and 100 % real.

History & Cultural Background

First went mega-viral in Thailand and Indonesia around 2018 under the name “Ayam Landak” (Porcupine Chicken) or “Ayam Babi Hutan” (Wild Boar Chicken).

Street vendors in night markets discovered that toothpicks stop the skin from shrinking away from the meat, creating an ultra-crispy armor.

Quickly spread to Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, and Brazil where it’s called “Pollo Puercoespín” or “Frango Porco-Espinho.”

In 2021–2024 it became a global TikTok/YouTube challenge with millions of views and several viral injuries (yes, the spikes fly when the chicken hits the oil).

Now considered one of the most extreme fried-chicken recipes on the planet.

Benefits of Porcupine Chicken

  • Insanely crispy skin – every single bite crackles like pork crackling.
  • Juicy meat protected inside the “armor.”
  • Zero breading or flour needed – 100 % natural gluten-free crunch.
  • Visual shock value perfect for parties, content creation, or terrifying your family.
  • High protein, moderate fat if you remove excess skin after cooking.

Ingredients (for 1 whole dramatic chicken, serves 4–6 brave souls)

Main

  • 1 whole chicken (1.4–1.8 kg / 3–4 lbs), head and feet removed
  • 400–600 wooden toothpicks (plain, not colored or plastic)
  • 3–4 liters neutral oil for deep frying (peanut, canola, rice bran)

Marinade (inject + rub)

  • 80 ml fish sauce
  • 50 ml light soy sauce
  • 30 ml oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground white pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 tbsp five-spice powder
  • Optional: 1 tsp MSG for extra umami

Dipping Sauce (Thai-Viet style)

  • 100 ml lime juice
  • 80 ml fish sauce
  • 60 g palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 6 bird’s eye chilies, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Fresh coriander

Formation – How to Turn a Chicken into a Porcupine

  1. Pat the chicken completely dry inside and out.
  2. Mix all marinade ingredients. Inject about 100–120 ml deep into breasts, thighs, and legs using a meat injector.
  3. Rub the remaining marinade all over and inside the cavity. Rest 4–12 hours (overnight best) in fridge.
  4. Next day: Take chicken out 1 hour before frying to reach room temperature.
  5. Insert toothpicks:
    • Push each toothpick through the skin only (do NOT pierce the meat deeply).
    • Start from the breast, then back, thighs, wings.
    • Space them 0.8–1 cm apart in neat rows. The entire skin must look like a hedgehog.
    • Use 400–600 toothpicks. The more, the crispier and scarier.
    • Leave 1 cm of toothpick sticking out – this becomes the “spikes.”
  6. Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine and tuck wings behind.

Cooking Method – Deep-Frying the Beast (HIGHLY DANGEROUS – READ SAFETY FIRST)

Safety Rules (Non-negotiable)

  • Use a very large, deep pot (at least 8–10 liters).
  • Fill oil no more than 1/3 full.
  • Fry OUTDOORS or under powerful exhaust. Oil WILL splatter violently.
  • Wear long sleeves, gloves, and eye protection.
  • Have a large metal lid ready to smother flames.
  • Never fry indoors without commercial ventilation.

Step-by-Step Frying

  1. Heat oil to exactly 160 °C (320 °F) – low and slow first.
  2. Very gently lower the porcupine chicken into the oil using tongs and a spider strainer. Expect explosive bubbling.
  3. Fry at 160 °C for 25–30 minutes, turning every 7–8 minutes. Skin will tighten and spikes will stand up.
  4. Increase heat to 190 °C (375 °F) for final 5–8 minutes to get golden color and maximum crackle.
  5. Internal temperature must reach 75 °C (167 °F) in the thickest part of thigh.
  6. Lift out carefully. Drain upside-down for 10 minutes so oil runs out of cavity.
  7. Let rest 15 minutes. The skin will continue crackling audibly.

How to Eat It (For Lovers of Extreme Crunch)

  • Hold the chicken by the legs (wear gloves – spikes are sharp).
  • Snap off toothpicks in sections. The skin comes off in crispy sheets.
  • Dip the crackling in the sauce, then tear juicy meat.
  • True lovers eat the skin first like pork rinds, then the meat.

Nutrition Facts (per 200 g serving with skin)

  • Calories: ~580 kcal
  • Protein: 48 g
  • Fat: 42 g (mostly from skin)
  • Carbohydrates: 0 g
  • Extremely high in collagen, B vitamins, and satisfaction.

Final Conclusion

Porcupine Chicken is not just food – it’s performance art, culinary madness, and the absolute pinnacle of crispy chicken achievement. It will scare your guests, destroy your kitchen’s cleanliness, and give you the single crunchies bite of poultry you will ever experience.

For True Lovers Only

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still willing to stab 600 toothpicks into a chicken and drop it into a cauldron of boiling oil… welcome to the cult. You are now officially a Porcupine Chicken Master. Post your creation, tag the brave, and keep the legend alive.

Now go forth and fry the spikiest, crunchiest, most legendary chicken the world has ever seen.

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